Weekend Wrap-up: Huskies Eke out a Sweep in Bemidji

Michigan Tech was on the road this weekend, trying to change the current trend of coming up short. The Huskies traveled to Bemidji, Minnesota to take on the Beavers of Bemidji State University. The bounces finally went the way of Michigan Tech as they held on to get a road sweep, with both wins coming in overtime; 5-4 on Friday and 2-1 on Saturday. Jujhar Khaira had a break out weekend for the Huskies, netting two goals and two assists on the weekend, his first and second goals of his career.

Friday

The Huskies were able to rally back to get a win on Friday night in a game that needed Tech to score four goals in a row, with three of them coming after the second period. Steven Siego started the scoring, but then Bemidji rallied off four straight of their own, holding a 4-1 lead with 1 minute remaining in the second. With 19 seconds to go, Blake Pietila scored to make it 4-2.

In the third, it was the Khaira show, as he netted his first and second goals on consecutive power plays to tie the game at four apiece.

“We were working hard,” said Khaira, “and I knew if we kept working, they would start to go in. We didn’t panic (when down), we just kept working hard.”

The work wasn’t done, the Huskies came out hungry and scored in the third minute of overtime, when Alex Petan was able to put a rebound in past the netminder.

Saturday

Saturday was a game that the Huskies came out strong, but strugged get anything past the goaltender Dugas. It wasn’t until the end of the second that the shutout was finally broken, Siego again kicked off the scoring with a one timer finding the back of the net.

Kevin Genoe stood strong in the net, coming up big at crucial moments as the Beavers increased their pressure late in the third. However, Bemidji found their way into overtime with a Jordan George shot with just over five minutes remaining. As the clock counted down in overtime, it appeared that the game would end in a tie, but with 30 seconds remaining Khaira found Pietila all alone in the front to give the Huskies the win and their first sweep of the season.

“Our guys played well tonight,” said Head Coach Mel Pearson. “We dictated the way the game was going to go tonight, and I felt we were the better team the majority of the game. It’s a big, big win for us heading into the break.”

Stick Salute

Jujhar Khaira is the recipient of this week’s stick salute. Khaira has had strong play all season, but has struggle to find the back of the net. That changed on Friday when he was finally able to get his first goal as a Husky, then adding a second shortly after.

“I was so glad for (Juhjar), he was pressing and worried about his scoring,” said Pearson, “but every game he has been getting better.”

“It felt good, I got that monkey off my back,” said Khaira, “It took a while, but I kept working and knew it would come.”

About the Author

Andy joins us as our arena reporter. Previously he covered Michigan Tech for ‘Michigan College Hockey Online’. He resides in Houghton and graduated in 2001 from Michigan Tech.